February 4th is World Cancer Day, a campaign designed to raise awareness for a disease that causes millions of deaths every year. According to the campaign's promoter, the World Health Organization (WHO), if nothing is done, over 84 million people will die of this disease between 2005 and 2015.
In recent years, new treatments have emerged against this scourge: some can cure it completely, while others improve and prolong the life of patients. In some cases, certain cancers have even become chronic pathologies.
The field of radiotherapy has made significant strides in this regard. However, the main risk of this treatment is that the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor may be damaged along with the diseased areas. This is precisely why these new, sophisticated techniques -two of which are available at Clinica Alemana- have been developed.
Intraoperative Radiotherapy (IORT): Isolating the Affected Area
IORT is used when there is a high risk that the whole tumor cannot be surgically removed. This method allows the application of direct radiation to the tumor while sparing normal surrounding tissue. Clinica Alemana has pioneered the use of this method in Chile since 2003 and now includes it in its routine therapies.
After removing as much of the tumor as possible and under the supervision of the therapeutic oncologist and the radiotherapist, the surgeon inserts an acrylic tube and places it in the tumor bed. A machine called a linear accelerator then delivers a concentrated beam of radiation directly to the tumor. In this manner, a significant dose or radiation is applied to cancer cells without damaging surrounding tissue.
Dr. Andrés Córdova, head of Clinica Alemana's Radiotherapy Service indicated that this technique is only applied in very specific cases, as for example when a tumor has relapsed and in cases of rectal cancer. He added that the Service has seen very good results in some patients after undergoing this type of treatment.
